gardner



(No Model.)

2 Sheets- Sheet 1l E. A. GARDNER.

STEAM ENGINE.

N0.368,.762. Patente u .23,1887.

WLM/noces It PETERS, PhuwLnhogmpher, Washington. n. C.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

F. A. GARDNER.

STEAM ENGINE.

No. 368,762. Patented Aug. 23, 1887.

A *il A N, Pneusv Pww-Lluwgmplwr, wasmngnon. D, c.

' NITE STATES PATENT PIECE@ FREDERICK A. GARDNER, OF CATSKILL, NEW YORK,ASSIGNOR TO F. A. GARDNER du CO., OE SAME PLAGE.

STEAM-ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters `Patent No. 368,762, dated August23, 1887.

Applicaiion filed J'uy 1, 1886.. Serial No. 206,876. (No model.) I

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, FREDERICK A. GARD- NER, of Catskill, in the countyof Greene and State of New York, have invented a newand usefulImprovement in Steam Engines, of which the following isa description andspecification.

The object of my invention is to provide for a cheap and effectiveconstruction of the valve and valve-chest portions, and also thecylinder portion of an engine, in which the power is applied to thecrankshaft to revolve the latter and without any dead-points, and whoseworking-parts, instead of being exposed, are all inelosed and protectedby its case from the accumulations of dust and dirt.

In adapting my invention to practice, I use two or more cylinders placedpreferably side by side, or with their axes in the same vertical line;and the first part of my invention relates' particularly totheconstruction of the pistoucylinder, which consists of a sleeveperforated at its inner end for the passage of steam therethrough, andfixed firmly in a cavity made in the casting with a cap rmly secured inand closing the outer end of the sleeve, and a cylindrical tube iirmlysecured in the inner end ofthe sleeve with an annular steam-spacebetween the sleeve'and that part of the cylinder which is securedtherein, so that steam may enter the annular steam-space surrounding theouter end of the cylinder throughthe sleeve, and only enter the cylinderat its outer end to force the piston inward; and it also consists of aperforated valve-case adapted to receive the larger end of the valve andfitted to a tapered hole in a valve-chest having annular portssurrounding the valveease, a hollow cap adapted to receive the outersmall end of the valve and secured rrnly in the valvechest and againstthe outer end of the valvecase, and a tubular valve whose inner end isof largest diameter and which is adapted to slide to and fro in thevalve-ease and hollow cap,with a connectingrod for connecting the valvewith the operating-eccentric on a shaft, this construction beingeifectivc in securing the valve-case irrnly in position, and also inpreventing wear and lost motion between the valve and its connectionswith the shaft, and also in giving easy access to the valve and its casewhenever it is desirable to remove them for any purpose; and Iwill nowproceed to describe my improvement, having reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure l 'is a vertical longitudinal section of theengine at the axis of the line of cylinders, with the middle portion ofthe crankshaft and cranks in section. Fig. 2 is a vertical transversesection of the same at line A of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectionat line B of Fig. 2, with the ease of the engine shown in. plan, abovethe cylinder, atA one end.

In the drawings, 2 represents the casting or frame of the engine, whichis practically a closed box or case, within the upper part of which arethe cylinders 3 and the valves 6.

A series of holes of suitable size are made in the upper part of thecasing 2, and a screwthread, l0, is made around on the interior surfaceof these holes at the upper part, and a cylindrical ring, 13, having acorresponding screw-thread around the exterior, at the upper end, isscrewed firmly into each. hole in the casing 2, as shown clearly inFigs. 1 and 2. I make an annular internal flange or collar at the lowerend of each ring 13, and an annular external flange or collar on eachcylinder at 9, with a screw-thread made on the inner surface of thecollar on the ring 13, and a corresponding screw-thread made on eachcylinder 3 just below the collar 9, by means of which each cylinder isscrewed down to a seat in its ring 13, and a head or cap, 16, is screwediirrnly into the top of each ring 13. A hole is made in the upper partof the casting or casing 2 opposite each cylinder, and the lower part ofthis hole is made tapered, being smallest at the lower end, and acorrespondingly-tapered valve-case, 5, having perforations or holes 26around in its lower por tion, and also perforations or openings 28 allaround in its upper part, is tted into this tapered hole in the casting,the inner diameter of this valve-case 5 being the same its entirelength.

A steam-chamber, 27, is made the whole length of the steam-valve chest,and extends around the perforations or ports 28 in each valve-case 5, sothat steam admitted into this chamber l27 may pass in through the ports28 IOO in each and all the cases 5. A hollow cap, 4, closed at its upperend and of uniform inside diameter, is screwed into the hole made in theupper part of the casting, opposite each cylinder, and down firmly uponthe top of the tapered valve-case 5, fixing the latter firmly in placein its seat, and the inside diameter of this hollow cap 4 is a littleless than the inside diameter' of the valve-case 5 below it, as willclearly be seen in Fig. 2. A chamber, 12, is made all around in thecasting below the charnber 27 and communicates, through the perforationsor ports 23, made through the lower portion of the ring 13, with theport or steam- Space 18, extending around the top of the cylinder andabove the piston opposite each valve, as shown clearly in Fig. 2 and indotted lines in Fig. 3, and a chamber, 25, made in the castinglpartially around the ring 13 and opposite the perforations or ports 23,serves as a reservoir, into which any condensation within thesteam-space 18 may collect, and be drawn thence by the valve 37 throughthe passage38, valve-chamber, and passage 39 into the exhaust-spacebelow the cylinders.

The valve 6 is cylindrical in its general form,

4 with an annular projection, 8, at its upper part, made of a diameterto approximately fit the bore of the hollow cap 4, and this projection 8may have an annular groove'therein to contain a spring packing-ring, 29,or any other desirable and suitable packing which shall cause the upperpart of the valve 6 to t the bore of the hollow cap 4 properly andprevent live steam from passing up into the upper part of the hollow cap4, and the lower part of the valve 6 is provided with a similar flangeor annular projection, 8, larger in outside diameter than the upper one,to iit approximately the larger bore of the valve-case 5, and alsosimilarly grooved to receive a suitable packing, 29, to lit snugly thebore of the valve-case 5. As thu'sconstructed, the valve is smaller inoutside diameter in its middle portion than at the end portions, formingan annular movable chamber, 43, around the valve. I make this valve 6tubular, as shown clearly in Fig. 2, so that should there be anyaccidental leakage of live steam past the upper packing of the valve andinto the space in the hollow-cap 4, above the valve, it may readily findits way into the 'exhaust-space below the valve. By this tubularconstruction of the valve, steam is free to pass entirely through thevalve, and thereby prevent any undue or excessive pressure endwise uponthe valve, which might otherwise result from a leakage of live steampast the outermost packing of the valve and accumulating in the chamberwithin the cap at the outer end .of the valve.

Each piston 17 is grooved around its upper end to receive a springpacking-ring or any other suitable packing, and I make a boss, 19, onthe lower side of the piston-head, with a screw-thread around itsexterior and a recess in its lower side to receive a portion of a ball,

20, 'into which is screwed the connecting-rod 21, and a cap, 22,recessed to receive the lower portion of the ball 20, is screwed ontothe boss below or outside the ball, which secures the rod 2l to thepiston by a ball-and-socket joint. rlhe crank-shaft 31 extends throughthe case 2, and the cranks 30, (to which the connecting-rods 21 areconnected by any wellknown means,) are arranged on the shaft at an angleof one hundred and twenty degrees to each other when three eylindersareused.

A toothed or gear wheel, 32, shown in Fig. 1 and also in dotted lines inFig. 2,is keyed to the driving or crank shaft, and a similar toothedwheel (whose teeth engage with those of the wheel on the driving-shaft)is keyed to the eccentric shaft 34, which is` arranged to revolve insuitable bearings and within the case, so that the eccentric shaft ismade to revolve at the same speed and therefore always with the samerelative position to the crankshaft.

There are three eccentrics, 33, one for each crank and piston, and theyare secured to the eccentric shaft atan angle of one hundredA and twentydegrees to cach other and corresponding to the relative positions of thecranks with each other on the crank-shaft; and each valve 6 is connectedwith its eccentric by any ordinary arrangement of eccentric rod andband, 35.

A steam-inlet is made at any convenient point to-admit live steam intothe chamber 27, and an orifice is made at any convenient point in theease 2 below the valve to conduct away the exhaust-steam, both havingsuitable pipes connected therewith.

Suppose the piston 17 in one cylinder and its corresponding'valve, 6, tobe in the position shown in Fig. 2: lf live steam be admitted into thechamber 27, it will pass through the ports 28 into the chambered portion43 of the valve 6, and the lower flange or projection, 8, on the valvebeing the largest, the preponderance of steam -pressure will be downwardagainst the valve to always hold the eccentric against the shaft. Assoon as the upper edge of the lower flange, 8, in the downward movementof the valve passes below the upper edge of the lower ports, 26, in thevalve-case 5, the steam will pass down through these ports 26 into theport 12, and thence through the ports 23 into the steamspace 18, aroundthe upper end of the cylinder and above the piston, which will be forceddown thereby, to apply power in revolving the crank-shaft and completingthe downward stroke of the piston. As soon as the lower edge of thelower iiange, 8, of the valve 6 passes above the lower edge of the ports26 in the upward movement of the valve the exhaust-steam from the spaceabove the piston 17 is free to pass out through the ports 23, 12, and 26into the exhaust-space below the valve, whence it is conducted offthrough the exhaust-pipe.

IIO

Each cylinder-piston and its valve operates in precisely the samemanner, but all in rapid succession, when the engine is in operation.

It will be seen that live-steam pressure is only applied to the upperside of the piston, while the other side is only exposed to theexhaust-steam inthe exhaust-space, and that the pistons exert theirpower against the crankshaft in rapid succession, and only in onedirection to revolve the shaft either way/,whether in one direction orthe other, the pressure against the crank-shaft during the opposite orupward movement of the piston being simply the weight of the latter andits rod.

The pressure of the valves against the eccentric-shaft and the pressureof the pistons against the crankshafts are both. always in the samedirection, and consequently there is little or no noise in the runningof the engine, and the wear of both shafts is reduced to a minimum.

If steam should condense in the steam-space 18 around the cylinder, thecondensation will collect in the space 25, and by turning the valve 37away from its seat the water will run down through the passages 38 and39 into the exhaust-space below and be drawn off by a suitable cockplaced for that purpose.

Supports 45 may be cast with the frame or casing 2 to give a firmbearing to the crankshaft 31 near the cranks, and stufng-boxes 46arranged in each end ofthe casing and around the crank-shaft to preventthe leakage of exhaust-steam through the case and around the shaft.

Any well-known automatic oilin g apparatus may be attached to theworking parts within the casing in the exhaust-space for the properlubrication of the working parts therein.

It will be seen that when the engine is in operation the uppersteam-chamber, 27, always contains live steam and the exhauststcamalways passes out through the chamber 12 below, and thence into thesteam-space below the valve, and that by making the Valve with its innerend of largest diameter and the valve-ease and its hollow cap togetherof corresponding form, the latter of smaller inside diameter to fit theouter and smaller end of the valve, the valve always remains under apressure of live steam in the same direction. This is a very important'feature in causing a reduetionpf wear and noise in the running of anengine. It will be perceived that to cast the main casting2 the sleeveor ring 13, closed at its outer end, and the tube 3, open at both ends,all in one piece, and with the steamspace 18 around the upper end of thecylinder-tube'17 and above the open end of thelatter, would be veryexpensive, and would be attendedwith many difculties; and I considerthis construction an important feature of l my invention in a saving oflabor and expense.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new isn 1. Theeombination,in an engine, of a valvechest provided with a taperedholeand annular steam spaces or ports surrounding and communicatingtherewith, a perforated tapered valve-case fitted into saidA taperedhole, a hollow valve-cap adapted to receive the small outer end of thevalve, and secured rmly in the valve-chest and against the outer end ofthe valve-case, and a cylindrical tubular slide-valve whose inner andlarger end is adapted to slide in the valve-case and whose outer smallend is adapted and fitted to move in the hollow valve-cap, and aconnecting-rod for connecting the valve with the operatingeccentric onthe eccentric-shaft, substantially as described.

2'. The combination7 in an engine, of the perforated cylinder-sleeve 13,closedat its outer end and secured rmly in the casting, and the cylinder3, open at both ends and secured in the inner end of the sleeve, withanl annular steam -space ex tending around between the sleeve and thatportion of the cylinderl inelosed within the sleeve, substantially asdescribed.

FREDERICK A. GARDNER. Witnesses:

HENRY D. SHoRns, FRED W, PALMATIER.

